Casing removing instrument



ay 3% H95@ v. a. APPLEGATE 2,509,411

CASING REMOVING INSTRUMENT Filed June 1.4, 1946 ATTORNEY Patented May 3G, 1950 t] Nl Fi ED STATES EXEENT 10F Fffl'CE VCiSIlrGfLREMOVING INSTRUMENT VirgLC. Applegatallenver, Colo.

Applicationluneflh 1946, Serial No.676,739

lCiaim.

This invention. relates to instruments for removing `the :casings surrounding certainsub- `stances `such `as the "Visking skinsin which `franlrfurter landwienermeat are encased during manufactureand thus make these `meat products into whatsis termed'inlthe trade as skinless One `of the'objectsomyinvention is to produce a casingiremoving instrinnent of the type referred to which ncan be easily and eiliciently handled lbythe operator Uso as `to quickly and f w smoothly remove' the' casings" `or skins from substances auch.: frankfurters `or wieners.

`Anotl'ier object `is'to so construct an instrument of the kind referred to, and particularly the blade "thereof, that the operator, by employing a mini--l parent from the followingdescriptiontaken in "25 connection with` the accompanying i drawings in which:

1Eigurelisla fsi'deviewfof a `casing removing instrument embodying my invention;

Figure `2: is a sectional =vliew taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 11showingthefattachng meansfor `thebladeuand :Figure 3 is/.awview :showing `a different `blade construction.

Referringto ythe drawings in `detail andirsttoFigures landfZ, aipreferredxform of my easing `nemoving 'instrnnfient` is shown thereby which comprisesafhandle Hand ablade B. The handle is approximately fourrto've inches in length,

approximately three-.fourths inch wide and about one-fourth inch thick so that the handle will be of a proper size to permit the-operator to grip rit rmiy in thecoinplete palm of hisior her hand with the foreinger and thumb grasping theihandie closely adjacent the end `from which the bla-de extends. `rThe handle is provided with a longitudinal kerf or slot l which extends about threefourths `of the distance throuehthe Width of the ihandleiand posi-tionedin this slot is the rear end `portion of the-blade B. Thefbladeis held `clamped w50 in the kerf .by-means of ai bolt 2 extending through an opening in Vthedolade. "The `head of the bolt is slotted to permit it being turned by a screw driver and both the head and the nut 4 are counter-sunk into the side of the handle so 55 (Cl. 30e-.355

`that the handle willbe smooth. The portion-of the `blade which is clamped in the slot bythe bolt is arranged to have litsback edgeengagethebottob of theslot so that withrthis arrangement,v to `gather `with theA clamping action,- the blade lwill `be firmly held againstany'relative movement.

An `important feature of i the invention Vernbodied in theiinstrument resides uin `the :blade which is so constructed as to have approximately `between one inch andone and one-fourth inches of length extendingfrom the handle. "Theyouter extending end portion V5M ofthis blade. comprising at least one-thirdiof the length-` oftherblade, is of considerably narrower nwidth than the major @widthf of the blade, AitV being-notymore thaniapproximately oneefourthofan inch-iniwidth. 'The `extreme outer. `tcp edge ofrthis @narrow lend por- Y tion 5is curved as ,indicated/at; l. `The'operating edge `of the blade is constructedA to :be provided `with teeth B andthese teeth should be` of i such size that their number is betweend substantially eighteen teeth; to twenty-four teeth `to the ginch.

AThe teethare formedto be provided with an inclination on theirirear ledge, that :isfthe-edge towards the handlefiand the-forward-edge ofjthe teeth are so arranged as to give `the teeth afforward rake. The curvedredge 'I `at thefend of` the narrowwportion-of the :blade -is arranged to-meet the outer end tooth in such `afmanner `thatthis 'tooth provides-an endV piercing and-pickuppoint `atthe outer endiof the operating edgeoffthe `blade which permits the-.blade to `be` effectively i alternately bentto the sides of amedial line. "The `entire back edge of` the blade is fiiat to prevent minjury to the operator.

In using my improved casing removing instru- -ment the blade `is rst employed to operate-onthe linking portion or joint between adjacent frankfurters or wienersresultingl from'the `process` of manufacture, 'the meat 'thereof being encased in "suitable casingiorskin such as Viskingf `The blade is insertediat the joint and the linksicut intwo bythe use of the teeth onthe, blade. "The `cutting is done .bymoving `the teeth of the blade `toward ti'ieiaceiof.` the thumb with the jointzportion in" between. 'After cutting oi alinkthe teeth of `the instmment, particularly the. outer end tooth,` are employed to pickup Athe skin.Y lThe thumb is thenslid up on theblade so` as to clamp 'the `skin between the :thumb andthe teeth of the iblade .and `thenitheA skin` givenA a upeelinglaction, thereby removing at least a part of it from the wiener or frankfurter. With this part of the skin removed it is an easy matter then to use the teeth of the blade, together with the thumb to pick up additional skin and remove it until all of the skin is removed. By having the teeth small and of the order specified the skin can be quickly picked up and peeled off, yet there will be very little danger of marring or scarring the frankfurter or wiener. The shortness of the blade also permits the thumb to be easily slide to the outer end to cooperate with any of the teeth during picking up and peeling of the skin.

The particular construction of the blade, especially its length and the relatively narrow outer end, permits the blade to be easily and eiciently inserted at the joint between two linked frankfurters or wieners to perform any necessary piercing and twisting operation, together with the pickup of the skin. If the blade were wider at the end, then easy twisting of the blade would be interfered with. The end of the blade, however, is wide enough so as to permit suicient engagement of the thumb with the teeth so as to clamp a marginal portion of the skin to accomplish the peeling action. By having the portion of the blade closest to the handle of greater thickness than the outer end portion, considerable strength will be added to the blade which insures remote possibility of breakage and attend- 'ant long life. This wide portion also insures that there will be a greater area to be engaged by the thumb during the Skinning operation after the skin has been picked up.

The skinning of frankfurters and wieners is usually done by the use of ordinary paring knives. Actual use by experienced operators in meat packing plants has shown that the same operator can, by the use of my improved casing removing instrument, increase his or her output as much as fty percent over the output by the use of a paring knife. There also has been some use of a Skinning instrument in which an ordinary paring knife blade is provided with teeth instead of a smooth sharp edge. This instrument is slightly more efficient than the ordinary paring knife, but even in comparison with such instrument my improved instrument is still capable of increasing the output of the operator between thirty and forty percent. This increased output, with the use of my improved instrument, is believed to result primarily from the particular size and shape of the blade, the size, shape and 'arrangement of the teeth and the general ease and rapidity of the manipulation of the instru- Ament, due to its balance and proper hand gripping size. The narrow endV portion of the blade permits very quick and easy piercing of the skin and initial peeling. It has been clearly demonstrated that ordinary knives having ordinary blades, even though provided with saw teeth, completely fail to give the emcient and startling results accomplished by my improved instrument, thus proving that a denite forward step has been accomplished by the particular casing removing instrument shown and described.

In Figure 3 a slightly modified instrument is disclosed, diiering essentially from that shown in Figure 1 by the shape of the blade. The instrument shown in Figure 3 is primarily designed for use of blade material not requiring additional strengthening adjacent the handle. In this Figure V3 instrument the handle H is provided with the slot I into which the blade B is clamped by the bolt 2. The width of the blade portion which is clamped. in the handle is considerably greater than the width of the blade portion 9 which extends from the handle. This portion 9, as disclosed, is of uniform width being substantially the same width as the end portion 5 of the instrument shown in Figure 1. Its length is approximately between one inch and one and one-fourth inches. The end edge of the blade is provided with a top rounded corner I0 and the lower edge of the blade is provided with teeth 8' of the same general shape and size as the teeth 8 of the instrument in Figure 1.

The instrument in Figure 3 is operated in the Vsame manner as the instrument in Figure l.

The end portion of the short blade 9 can be easily inserted at the joint between two frankfurters or wieners to sever the joint and the teeth employed to pick up the skin for the skin-ning operation.

Both casing removing instruments shown by way of example as embodying my invention may have their handles made of wood, but other material can be used such as plastic. The particular arrangement of attaching the handle to the blade permits the blade to be removed at will so that in the event the blade should become broken a new blade can be quickly substituted therefor Without purchasing an entirely new instrument. The attaching arrangement of the handle to the blade always insures that the blade will be firmly clamped in the handle with no relative movement permitted. Besides the particular cooperation between the slot and the blade which will prevent shifting of the blade, the clamping action of the parts of the handle at opposite sides of the slot on the teeth of the portion of the blade which fits into the slot will also aid in making a rm attachment.

Being aware of the possibility of modication in the particular instruments shown by way of example, without departing from the fundamental principles of my invention, I do not intend that the scope of the invention be limited except in accordance with the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A hand operated instrument for removing casings or skins from frankfurters and wieners, said instrument comprising a substantially straight handle of a girth to be firmly gripped by the hand of the user and of such a length as to extend substantially across the entire palm of said users hand, and a blade secured to the handle and extending from one end thereof, the extending part of said blade having a length less than one-fourth of the handle length and being provided along one edge with teeth and at least the outer one-third of said extending part of the blade being substantially less in width than the width of the handle in the same plane.

VIRGIL C. APPLEGATE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 298,115 Peace May 6, 1884 601,380 Phillips Mar. 29, 1898 1,726,241 Schubert Aug. 27, 1929 1,855,311 Rasner Apr. 26, 1932 2,364,250 Stokes Dec. 5, 1944 

